I Feel Like I'm Doing Finance Wrong

HelpingHand on 31/03/2022 - 21:16

I thought I was financially savvy by only buying Half Price in Groceries & shopping deals on Ebay and Amazong that aren't full price.
But recently having been put in a bad situation I found out things that I never thought were there in the first place. Things like

Shopback/Cashback
Credit Card Churning
Match Betting
Crypto Cashbacks for Social Goods

For a lay person who's never been in the Whirlpool forum (can't even navigate through it to be honest and theres so much info that I can't filter out the good from the noise). Would anyone be willing to go through anything that I might find worthwhile to research? Maybe Paypal earning through surveys that are good for Australia, etc..

I was hoping to start from 0 to something I can build up on throughout the months/years until my finances becomes more stable (aside from trying to keep a stable job).

Financial

Comments

    • Lunarboogie on 31/03/2022 - 22:35
      +11

      Are you not getting any lately?

      It was a legitimate question.

      • jellykingdom on 01/04/2022 - 08:16
        +2

        This commenter just got back from slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars

  • Kongzi on 31/03/2022 - 21:36
    +15

    There are just small amount of money. Best thing to do is increase your work income by climbing up the ladder/side hustle AND increase your savings rate

    • nuker on 02/04/2022 - 08:49

      And move half the savings to ETFs like VGS and VDHG using CommSec.

  • rektrading on 31/03/2022 - 21:38
    -7

    I'm happy to give you a helping👏.

    Buy and hodl.

    I 🙏 this helps.

  • deme on 31/03/2022 - 21:39
    +10

    Invest in yourself and read this book https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/the-barefo…

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 31/03/2022 - 22:03
      +2

      I second the Barefoot method. It's nothing ground breaking but helps give structure and guidance to people in a wide range of starting positions.

    • Kangal on 31/03/2022 - 22:04
      +4

      It might be "uh-duh" but the lessons in there are true, practical, and useful.
      It's also an easy read. Probably the best start, and for a good amount of people it will be the only financial book they will need to stave-off being poor, broke, or homeless.

    • dasher86 on 31/03/2022 - 23:08
      +13

      Just borrow it from the library..

    • Mokr on 31/03/2022 - 23:46
      +1

      Tldr. Save everything. And get a budget. Invest in efts. Buy a house then retire.

      • Some Guy on 03/04/2022 - 12:09
        +1

        Top up super between budget and efts!

  • Mr Mrrtn on 31/03/2022 - 21:49
    +14

    Consider the amount of time spent on researching best Shopback/Cashback, Credit Card Churning, Match Betting, Crypto Cashbacks for Social Goods etc. The rewards are really not very high, with possible exception of credit card churn, which can be decent, but you wouldnt do this too frequently.

    Now consider this amount of time put towards developing a side hustle, doing further studies to land a better job or promotion, etc. IMHO You're going to be much better off in the long term investing your time in the latter.

    • Mokr on 31/03/2022 - 23:45
      +8

      The average mobile phone plan is what 450 dollars a year.

      Spend an hour on ozbargain and you could find a plan and save 200 dollars a year.

      200 dollars for one hour of work extra a year for the rest of your life is big.

    • Tommyaka on 01/04/2022 - 09:05
      +6

      I know OP mentioned credit card churning, but mortgage churning is good if you have a home loan. 1-2 hours of work for a few thousand dollars in cash bonuses.

      • Waltervp on 01/04/2022 - 09:43
        +4

        I tried that and no bank wants to touch me.. only have 240k mortgage, on disability pension and 50+…. but great credit rating at least.

        Getting credit cards (churning) is equally hard, but I get away with that occasionally :)

        If you're young and poor, ie no credit rating, no permanent job, or let's say here on a 'permanent' working visa,… it is really hard to climb out and be able to take advantage of deals. Even buying bulk deals like 10 tins off tuna… can look like an investment.

        I feel for those people. Even having to pay crazy rents and then be forced to move out (with you kids and pets..) for renovations or end of lease… the Australian dream of owning your own home is not a dream in Australia, it's a necessity. And so many people do not qualify or cannot afford a home. We need tenancy protection like in other civilised worlds, so once in a rental you can stay as long as you like with only cpi indexed rent increases. That's a whole different discussion…

        I am doing well myself thank goodness.

    • porkflossbun on 01/04/2022 - 17:24
      +1

      Ozbargain is great for scouting out deals and bargains. However I think you are looking for financial education which is different. What Mr Mrrtn said is good. I recommend reading "Rich Dad, poor Dad" to get an idea of what financial education is and from there grow your knowledge. It's a journey so don't be too hard on yourself. Everyone is wired differently and have different starting points.

  • Benoffie on 31/03/2022 - 21:51
    +13

    I have never ever done any of those things.

    I would not equate doing those things as being financially savvy or saving money.

    Considering how much I value my privacy in every regard, I place a value on that. Therefore, it is not worth the discounts offered through those programmes.

    I make small exceptions for some rewards programmes with companies I purchase from regularly and because of which, they have the same details regardless.

    Don't compare yourself to others - especially in these forums (and WP!). Track your progress against your goals and your previous position. That is all that matters.

  • AustriaBargain on 31/03/2022 - 22:30
    +8

    Micromanaging comes with a mental cost. You may be better off ups killing at work or enjoying more rest and relaxation than studying ShopBack and CashBack and crypto churning or whatever just to save a few percent on the few percent of your income you spend on groceries and phone bill. The time and effort put into that could be put into just making more money. Studying the laws around split developments or whatever you do for a living, or learning some new software, or just relaxing more so you are more refreshed and focused at work. And yeah you could study OZB and other sites an hour ever day for killer deals, but an hour a day is like 7% of your waking life. Is it worth giving that up just so you can get a free Uber Eats or bonus $20 every now and then?

    • Mokr on 31/03/2022 - 23:28
      +1

      Stuff like the Netflix hack is honestly very good for saving money.

      And NBN deals.

      And mobile plan hacks.

      You can save a lot for not a lot of effort.

      • DamonT on 01/04/2022 - 08:20
        +1

        Mobile plan hacks? You mean churning or something different?

    • SBOB on 01/04/2022 - 07:15
      +4

      better off ups killing

      But then his online orders might not turn up.

    • jellykingdom on 01/04/2022 - 08:23
      +1

      I agree

      I used to CC churn but it honestly was just a pain in the butt after a while, then you forget to cancel the card 1x and you've lost the entire profit

      I use Shopback and CR all the time, it's just become habit, and isn't even any extra inconvenience for me

      Match betting - i'd never even heard of that until now but i just googled it and oof it just sounds like a lot of work for nothing. The companies wouldn't even offer these kind of promotions if they stood to loose

      Same goes for crypto

      I used to do online surveys until it seriously just dawned on me that I was wasting my time. I do have a Nielsen TV ratings box which isn't bad. my wife doesn't see the point but honestly if you earn $1 per day (or whatever it is) for nothing, I don't have a problem with it

      Just ensure you've got a good deal on your utilities/services/Home loan and you're 90% of the way there I reckon

  • SF3 on 31/03/2022 - 22:45
    +1

    Similar to other commenters.

    You should look at your opportunity cost if you do X vs Y, to help you decide where to spent your time.

  • askme69 on 31/03/2022 - 22:49
    +1

    In Australia, buy a house. They have been going up more then people earn in the same period.

    • Switchblade88 on 31/03/2022 - 23:47
      +4

      With what shall we buy it, dear Liza?

      They have been going up more then people earn in the same period

      Welp. So much for affording repayments.

  • p1 ama on 01/04/2022 - 00:13
    +2

    These are all just financial hacks - do it if you enjoy the challenge of hacking life, but like with bargain hunting, they're not going to make a huge difference to your wealth. Only way to get rich is to take risks or to acquire skills others are willing to pay for.

  • djkelly69 on 01/04/2022 - 04:10

    Not sure why you included match betting on that list, but definitely don't do that.

  • Hardlyworkin on 01/04/2022 - 07:40
    +4

    Failing having rich parents, next best is to find a rich partner.

    • Kangal on 01/04/2022 - 09:29
      +1

      That's now a failed plan, with Millennials having the lowest rates of children and marriage. I was going to suggest prostitution but that is already a saturated market thanks to OnlyFans.

  • Fergy1987 on 01/04/2022 - 09:05
    +2

    Shopback is a double edged sword though - Have to spend money to get shopback, so you end up buying a bunch of sh1t you dont need because of increased shopback rates etc.

  • dtc on 01/04/2022 - 09:29
    +3

    You can set up cashrewards (and maybe others) on your browser to automatically pop up and tell you if a particular site has cashback. So there is an easy way to get that (yes, you are being tracked).

    CC churning is a bit of a pain and there is always a minimum spend, so if you arent going to do that its not worth it

    See if your work, insurance fund (health or NRMA etc) offers discounted gift cards. Buy then at 5% or 10% off and use them for your shopping when you can, thats an easy immediate discount - however, you need to buy in advance and have the money to buy up front (and not lose them)

    Easy wins for mobile phones and insurance plans, just do a few comparisons. Google search any major buys or staticice for a tech buy and you can often find a few $ discount within a few seconds. If you are buying wine then lots of discounts available on cases, easy to find pretty good wine for under $70 per case delivered (of course if you are in dire financial straits then probably not what you should be spending your money on). Make your own coffee, bring your lunch to work etc

    However by far the best option is along the Barefoot investor lines ie just dont buy stuff you dont need to buy, put money aside so you dont spend it. If you 'dont buy' $75 of stuff per month, then that saving will far outweigh the 5% discount you get from some time consuming transaction involving gift cards or award points.

    edit: if you want some good advice re saving and investment, spend some time looking at the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) community. It is mostly US based and a lot of that stuff doesnt apply in Australia (eg 401k investments), but there is a growing Australian community and a lot of tips around saving money are universal.

  • 2esc on 01/04/2022 - 09:39
    +1

    Yes look for deals but you can't get time back. If you spend all your time looking for every cent you can save your not enjoying life.

  • Jugganautx on 01/04/2022 - 14:02

    Time = money.

    Wasting time on all the things you listed is wasting money.

  • HiDave on 01/04/2022 - 17:12

    Bitcoin fixes this.

    Hey, what are you using for your crypto cashbacks please, OP?

  • OzHunterNSW on 01/04/2022 - 17:49
    +2

    Forget about spending a day to get $2 back….
    Stop trawling through all these enticing item sites.

    If you are in a bad spot, buy NOTHING…. except the essentials… and even then buy less.
    Have a look at your trolley… I bet you have biscuits, lollies, chocolates, expensive meats, and the treats.

    Re-assess what you buy.

    You can live on OATS, supplement with soup, bread, etc.

    You don't need the old English dinner where meat must be included.

    Assess yourself

  • Yola on 01/04/2022 - 19:36

    I love getting a bargain, as all of us on here do. I spend a lot of time on CR/SB, shopping with GC's, churning credit cards, getting special offers on AMEX, Westpac, and Comp Bank among others. BUT I am retired. This activity will not replace the wealth you can generate through a good job or starting a business, by being frugal with your spending and then investing savings well. Invest in yourself to grow your income as your priority and once that is working well spend time on finding deals.

  • johninmelb on 01/04/2022 - 20:44
    +1

    You'll never get rich by doing surveys. Believe me, I've tried!

    But, I do manage to make a bit of extra money that comes in handy. Plenty of survey companies, PureProfile, Valued Opinions, YouGov, E-Rewards, QOR, etc etc.

    The best earners are product tests, usability testing, and focus groups. I used to do well out of them, but my age goes against me now. Some years ago, I was earning close to $1000 a year with focus groups etc, but they do restrict how many times you can do them. Not for everyone as you have to be comfortable in a group setting, not afraid to speak up, and confident in your ability to express an opinion and contribute to the discussion. Shrinking violets need not apply.

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